taste of africa seed mix?

[desertbirds]

Which is the seed in Taste of Africa that looks like johnson grass but grows about 15 feet tall ? I will try and post a few pics as ive grown some of the seed out of the mix this year.There are a few really good seeds for planting out in that mix.As others have stated Jayburd,its great if you can afford it but your birds will survive on basic finch mix.Supplying fresh greens,live food,calcium ect ect is more important than having a huge variety of different dry seed.

[west finch]

Yep i'll go along with that desertbirds. Good advice

[jusdeb]

ditto D/ Birds

[Jayburd]

ok thanks
I do understand what you're saying, but wouldn't the bigger variety be better? sure they can SURVIVE on basic mix but would they do BETTER on something else?

[E Orix]

There are numerous theories about what diets you should use.
If you wish to feed a particular diet or method so be it. Your breeding results, birds condition etc will tell you if you are
going in the right direction. What worries me is at times doing it in moderation seems to be forgotten.
You can do nearly as much damage to your birds by over feeding as you can starving them to death,only the latter is quicker.
Today far more birds are being bred than 25 years ago,why? Simply we are far better informed, we now know that certain species require
additional dietry requirements and information is passed on readily and quickly.Now you can buy far more products for the birds diet apart from
the basic seeds.BUT just because it is readily available it doesn't mean you should feed them all and pile them into your birds to eat.
What would happen to you if you ate Take Away or ate out every night,also if you were careful with your diet and some one came along and tempted you with a favorite desert.Would you eat it? An example from the bird world, with some Parrots you could offer the most desirable tray of food and another with just hulled Sunflower seeds and they will eat themselve stupid on the Sunflower seeds.Which I might add would not be the best diet at all.
I am well aware of additional requirements when birds are feeding chicks,but make sure they are feeding a balanced diet to them rather than a easy addition
on the feed table.
As I have stated before, the diet I feed is simple but reasonably balanced but I do increase the soaked seed dramatically when chicks are being fed.
I would much rather see a bunch of seeding grass being fed than a bowl of Egg and Biscuit but thats my opinion.
The big indicator is how many chicks fledge from the number of eggs hatched.
If you have a pair of Softbills that hatch 3 eggs and fledge 3 young in good condition you are obviously doing the diet presentation well.
This also applies to Finches and Parrots it is a great indicator.
Should the parents toss out their young one at a time then I would say there is a dietry problem or too much interference.
If your birds are breeding consistantly and rearing full clutches you are doing well if not stop and think about the diet you are feeding.
You will hear and read all sorts of opinions just like this one,don't take every one as gospel think about them ALL and bring common sense to the front.

[Fincho162]

!00% agre with all that has been said but one of the reasons that we do breed more finches these days is that many people do think outside the circle in regards seed mixes, live food and calcium mixes.

With waxbills their needs are perhaps a tad more complicated than many of the "tougher" finches and it is no accident that many with Blue-caps supply them with specialty seed mixes - Jayburd, you are on the right track with your research and I applaud you for it.
Maybe you wont have Blue-caps for a long time but you will know a lot about them when you do - and supplying them a seed diet more akin to their natural diet is a great start.

Sure, for many finches supplying them with fancy exotic seed mixes is a waste of $$$......in the case of waxbills it definately is not. Blue-caps are notoriously fickle and anything that keeps them in good condition is a plus.
Anyway, a fancy seed mix with their natural seeds might cost a bit initialy but will last a long time.
Horses for course I'm not advocating such mixes for Longtails, Stars, Weavers and Gouldians (mind u not that they woudln't eat it with relish!!!!) .......but if you intend to keep Rufous-backs, Orange-cheeks, Pytilias and Bluecaps then keep on thinking the way you are!!!

Well done - keep thinkng outside that circle and researching your finches!!

[bleeding green]

E Orix,

In your opinion, if you are getting good number of fledgings from hatchlings, say 3 from 4, then everything is OK and you need not change anything in regards to food/diet? What about long term? for example parents might raise a full clutch but because their diet might have been lacking in certain vitamins it might effect the birds latter on in life, from first moult onwards.
Also, what about in a mixed aviary, you might have success with one species but another may fail to breed etc. Or is this solely dependable ont he species which are selected for the mixed aviary to have similar dietary and hosuing requirements?

I agree with you that more is not always better (quality over quantity), alot can be said for that. However I do try and mix up my birds diet a bit, where I feed a basic finch mix (or pellets for the parrots) then offer differant things depending on what I have available from soaked seed, seed heads, frozen vegies, fruit, egg n biscuit etc.

[bleeding green]

You will hear and read all sorts of opinions just like this one,don't take every one as gospel think about them ALL and bring common sense to the front.

I love this line. This is pretty much my theory on everything in life. Everyone has an opinion and we should listen to them all. Then you have to take all that information and come up with what is best for you. That is our challenge in life.

[jusdeb]

Its why we have a fully functioning brain ...we just forget to use it sometimes .....we are not sheep after all.

[finchbreeder]

Ditto Orix and Deb's comments. I have over the years always fed my finches a good basic millet and canary seed mix with periodic additions of linseed and canola etc. And I've had good and bad years. Due to space constraints I keep in 3 avairys a mix from Javas to waxbills. What has been different in my good years? Greens, livefood and did I mention Greens? Yep the biggest difference in the good years has always been more greens and more often. And I feed greens from my garden not from the shops.
My greens are seeding grasses, lawn grasses and "weeds". No people veges. Now settle down! I'm not saying they aren't good just that I don;t use them.
LML